Her Protector
by jackandsamforever
Summary: This is a Boston Legal/Blacklist fic. Liz comes to Alan Shore as a last resort after Tom is released from prison after he almost kills her. She never expected to fall for Alan in the process. Red is not a character in this fic, but Alan is a lot like Red in many respects; and of course both characters are played by James Spader, so that makes it ok, right? ;) ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** So this idea came from discussions over in our Spoone, Redzie Facebook page. I think it would be interesting to explore this pairing, because Liz would be able to put up with Alan's bull while still being herself. Give it a chance, you may like it. ;)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to The Blacklist or Boston Legal.

* * *

Elizabeth Keen walked into the entrance of _Crane Poole & Schmidt_ and just about turned right back around. It was a madhouse, a complete madhouse. She couldn't tell who were lawyers and who were clients; and the noise level...it was unbearable. A good friend had recommended this law firm, but she honestly couldn't see why.

She watched as a tall, funny looking man strode past her chasing after an older, well-dressed man. The older one kept yelling "Denny Crane" over his shoulder, not listening to a word the tall man was saying. It was actually pretty funny.

Not that she found many things very funny these days.

She was here because her bastard of a husband had beat her, then had the gall to file for divorce and ask for alimony. She needed the best lawyer money could pay for, and that's why she was here. But staring into this madhouse she wondered if it would be easier to just give Tom the money and be done with it.

She worked for the FBI and made pretty good money, but not enough for what Tom was asking for. Bastard.

A pretty, dark-haired woman approached her with a smile on her face. "Hi, can I help you?"

Liz cleared her throat and tried not to look the woman directly in the eye. The bruises on her face were just beginning to fade, but they were still noticeable. They embarrassed her greatly because she was a federal agent. She should be able to take care of herself, and she had allowed herself to get her ass handed to her.

"Um, I need a good lawyer. The best you have."

The woman nodded and looked over her shoulder. "Then you need Alan Shore. I'll take you to him and we'll see if he can help."

Liz smiled in relief that the woman hadn't winced at her face, or tried to say something to comfort her. She was all business, and that told her more than anything about this place.

As the woman led Liz towards this Shore guy, she was almost run over twice by the man who kept saying "Denny Crane". The second time he ran into her, he stopped and raked his eyes up her body, then smiled and introduced himself. But before Liz could tell him off, her escort grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away while apologizing profusely. Somewhere in her apology she heard "Mad-cow" and "crazy"; Liz didn't know what the hell was going on.

They eventually walked into a quieter hallway, and the woman knocked on a door at the end. They heard a "Come in", then the woman pushed the door open and smiled at the man sitting behind his desk. "Alan, this is..." She trailed off and grimaced. "I'm sorry, I never asked you what your name was."

Liz stepped forward and smiled at the handsome man sitting behind his desk. "I'm Elizabeth Keen."

Alan stood up and buttoned his suit coat then approached her. He tilted his head to the side as he studied her, then he reached forward and ran a finger over her bruised cheek softly. "I'm assuming you're here for that. Why don't you sit down and tell me more?"

Liz wanted to tell him off for touching her, but she couldn't seem to find the words. He obviously cared and seemed sincere; she didn't need to alienate him by speaking harshly to him.

Her escort left without another word and closed the door behind her.

She sat down across from his desk and took a deep breath. She was nervous and more than a little scared at the prospect of telling someone about the abuse. She didn't want to appear weak.

He sat down in his chair again and looked at her with raised eyebrows. She couldn't help but admire his good looks with his light brown hair, well-shaped jaw, and nice smile. Not to mention that he wore the hell out of a suit.

"So Elizabeth, can I call you Liz?"

She shrugged. She didn't care what he called her as long as he won her case. "Sure, whatever."

"So Liz, tell me why you're here."

She spent the next ten minutes telling him about Tom and their marriage. How it had started out great, but her husband had soon became abusive, and it continued to escalate. She was afraid for her life; the last time he had broken two of her ribs and a cheekbone.

As her story continued to unfold, his eyes became more and more narrow, and by the time she was finished he looked angry. "Why haven't you called the police?"

She sat forward, then winced at the pain it caused in her ribs. "I have. He gets arrested then let out almost immediately. It's like he has connections. His charges never stick. I don't know what to do anymore." She knew she sounded pathetic and weak, but she felt comfortable in front of this man, and she didn't know why.

He sighed and sat back. "Forgive me. Abuse cases always serve to raise my blood pressure."

He stood up and walked around the desk, then sat down next to her. "Liz, I will do everything in my power to make it so you can feel safe again. I promise."

She nodded and wiped her nose with a tissue that he handed her. "Thank you. I didn't know where else to turn."

He reached over and put his hand in-between her shoulder blades. "You came to the right place. Not only will he lose his case, but he's going to go to prison for his crimes."

She believed him.

OOOOOO

The next day she walked into the firm and sighed. It was even crazier than yesterday, and no one seemed to notice or care. She made her way through the scrum and came face to face with Alan Shore. Apparently she was later than she thought and he had come looking for her. He smiled and took her elbow, then began to lead her towards his office. "How are you today, Liz?" He asked loudly over the noise.

She leaned closer and said, "Fine...I guess." She wondered if she was depressed. She didn't seem to feel much besides pain these days.

He squeezed her elbow lightly then led her inside his office and shut the door. She turned to sit down, but was startled by the presence of the "Mad-cow" man. "Um.." she said, not sure what to do.

Alan patted her on the shoulder and gestured to the man sitting on the couch in front of him. "Liz, this is Denny Crane. Denny, this is Elizabeth Keen."

Denny smirked and nodded. "Denny Crane," he said roughly.

"Erm..nice to meet you, Denny." She sat down and glanced nervously at him. He seemed a little "off". She didn't like "off".

Alan stepped in front of Denny and began to converse with him in a low voice. Soon after, Denny stood up and passed behind her. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around, Liz...Denny Crane." Then he walked out and shut the door.

Liz let out a breath and shook her head. "He's...interesting."

Alan laughed. "That's one word you could use to describe him."

He sat down behind his desk, unbuttoning his suit coat as he did. "There's one thing we need to get out of the way today before we move on to filing charges." He blinked a few times, and she couldn't help but notice how long and golden his eyelashes were. They were prettier than hers were.

She bit her lip. "What's that?"

He crossed his legs and toyed with a pen. "We need to take pictures of your injuries before they heal. That's the most incriminating evidence we have."

Liz felt extremely uncomfortable showing her injuries to anyone. "Who would be taking those pictures?"

He pointed his pen at the door. "I can have Tara do it. She was the one you met yesterday."

Liz sighed, but nodded reluctantly. "Fine, let's just get it over with."

He nodded and stood, then began to move past her. She caught his wrist before he could leave. "Actually.." She couldn't believe she was going to say this. "I think I would feel more comfortable if you took the pictures."

His eyebrows rose in surprise, but he nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Very well. We need to take them now if that's ok with you."

It wasn't, but she didn't see that she had much choice if she wanted to win the case.

Instead of saying any of that, she nodded and stood up, releasing his wrist in the process. "Let's do it now while I still have the courage to."

He looked at her with sympathetic eyes; something that she didn't want to see come from him. "What do I need to do then?"

He turned and went over behind his desk, then opened a drawer and pulled out a black camera. He turned to her and winced slightly. "I can start with your face, but you'll need to remove your shirt and pants eventually."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

He handed her a wet wipe to remove her foundation, then he finished taking pictures of her face all too soon.

"You need to remove your clothing now. You can keep your undergarments on." She wanted to walk out and never come back, but she knew that Tom wouldn't ever stop until he killed her. She didn't have many choices left.

She quickly pulled her shirt and pants off while avoiding eye contact with Alan. She didn't want to see the look on his face when he saw her bruises.

She stood up and looked behind Alan's shoulder at the wall as she followed his instructions. His voice was tight with anger. She didn't even know him well, but she could tell he was mad.

Tears began to run down her face as the camera continued to click. She was utterly humiliated, and still in a lot of pain. It hurt to even breathe.

The clicking finally stopped, but she stood there unmoving; too embarrassed to say or do anything.

After a few moments a hand on her shoulder startled her out of her trance. She blinked and looked up to see Alan looking at her with anger in his eyes. "He's going to pay for this, Liz. He won't be a free man after I'm finished with him." He reached up and wiped the tears off of her cheeks with his thumb.

She nodded, but then just as quickly a sob forced its way out of her. She hadn't cried properly since the latest incident, and now she couldn't stop the onslaught of tears as they spilled out of her eyes like a dam breaking.

His frown deepened as he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a gentle hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist under his coat and just let all her emotions go, not caring that she was barely clothed or that she had only known Alan for less than twenty-four hours. She was tired of being strong, she needed someone to be strong for her for a few minutes.

He pulled her closer and ran his hands up and down her bare back soothingly. He was gentle with her, and that made her cry harder. She hadn't had someone be gentle with her for as long as she could remember.

She buried her face in his neck and breathed him in. His scent was unique, and she found that she liked it. After a few moments she pulled away but avoided looking at him. "I'm sorry about your suit. I'll pay to have it dry cleaned."

He huffed a laugh. "You'll do nothing of the sort. It's included in your fee." She could tell he was trying to lighten the situation. She let him.

She smiled and looked at him. "Thank you for letting me cry all over you. I'm sure _that's _not included in the fee."

He took a step back and handed her shirt to her. "You'd be surprised."

She pulled her shirt back on, then took the proffered pants from his hand and slipped them on as well. She felt better once her clothes were covering the bruises, but she still saw a hint of anger in his eyes.

Why did he care so much? She was just another client, right?

**AN: **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Alan stood in the doorway of his office and watched as Liz gingerly walked through the now quiet and darkened hallways and out of his line of sight. It had been hard for him to stay calm and be professional while taking the pictures when all he could see were the ugly, dark bruises mottling her skin. He was still angry about it, if he was honest with himself. He didn't understand why this woman's case had gotten under his skin more than any other case he'd taken on. He'd defended dozens of battered women and he'd never reacted like this.

She was different, but he couldn't figure out how. That wasn't even taking into account how he had felt with her crying in his arms; there had been something in the pit of his stomach that he hadn't felt in a long time. He wasn't sure if he liked it. Tara had just broken up with him only days ago, and he still missed her more than he thought possible; but ever since meeting Liz, his thoughts had only been about her.

He sighed and made his way towards Denny's balcony. He needed a friend to talk to, even if it was just to take his mind off of his troubles.

Denny was standing against the concrete barrier smoking a cigar seemingly lost in thought as Alan approached. Alan reached in his suit coat and brought out his own cigar and joined the older man.

Denny spoke before he could say anything. "That is one hot mama you're representing. What's her deal?"

Alan lit his cigar and took a long pull, then blew the smoke out into the cold, winter air. It had threatened to snow all week, but they had lucked out so far. "Almost killed by her husband." He really didn't feel like talking about her case with Denny, because he would just make his usual sexist remarks and trivialize Liz's problems. He found that he didn't want to hear any of that. It bothered him even thinking about it.

Denny blew a plume of smoke out and took a drink of his scotch. "What's bothering you, Alan?"

Alan shrugged and studied his cigar. "I still miss Tara." That was the best excuse he could come up with, even if it wasn't true.

Denny looked at him and studied him closely, then turned away again. "That's horse shit, but if you don't want to tell me then I can't force you to."

"Denny..." Alan said warningly.

Denny turned to look at him with his cigar in his mouth. "I can start guessing, but I know you won't like that." He was a little hard to understand with the cigar in his mouth, but Alan was used to it.

Alan turned and sat down in the comfortable, beige arm-chair and crossed his legs. "Soon, Denny. Soon." He took another pull of his cigar and closed his eyes.

Denny sat down next to him with a quiet grunt. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Denny finally spoke. "Whatever it is that's troubling you, just know that you can talk to me anytime about it."

Alan opened his eyes and nodded at his friend. "Thank you, Denny."

He really was grateful to the man. He was his best friend, he should be able to talk to him; but he couldn't. Not yet at least.

OOOOOO

The next day he strode into _Crane Poole & Schmidt _feeling marginally better than he had the previous day. As he had lain in bed the night before, he had managed to convince himself that he didn't feel anything but pity for Liz. He just felt sorry for her, and he was a man, so it was natural to feel protective of her. That was all it was. He didn't actually have feelings for her...until he walked into his office and saw her sitting on his couch with tears streaking down her face; the feelings he had seemingly squashed were back in full force.

He set his briefcase down on his desk and turned to face her with a neutral expression. "I guess asking how you're doing would be a stupid question. What's going on, Liz?"

She wiped her nose with a tissue and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Tom called me last night and threatened to make me disappear if I didn't agree to settle at today's meeting." She looked down and toyed with her tissue, not sure why she was in his office crying. She just hadn't known where else to go.

Alan's eye twitched, but he showed no other outward emotion as he glanced at his watch. The settlement meeting was in ten minutes. He needed to calm her down and attempt to erase all signs that she'd been crying.

He walked over to her and grabbed her closed fist that was resting in her lap, then hauled her to her feet. "What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, he took her arm and pulled her out of his office and down the hallway. She went along willingly; not that she had much choice.

He walked into the men's restroom and barked at a junior associate to leave immediately. Then young man quickly zipped up his zipper and all but ran out of the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, Alan checked the stalls for any other occupants. When he didn't find anyone else, he backed Liz up to the counter that held the sinks, grabbed her by the waist, and lifted her up on the marble counter top.

She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back so she could look at him. "Stop. What the hell are you doing?"

He stepped away and grabbed a hand-drying towel, then put it under a faucet and wet the cloth under warm water. As he wrung out the extra liquid, he finally turned and looked her in the eye. "The settlement meeting is in," he glanced at his watch again, "eight minutes. We need to get you calmed down an erase all signs that you've been crying." He stepped forward and pressed the warm cloth to the skin under her eyes, then began rubbing gently back and forth for a few moments.

She didn't know what to say, or think for that matter, so she just sat there and tried to decipher the myriad of emotions that played across his face.

He finished with the first eye, then moved to the other one and did the same; always careful not to smudge her eye makeup. After a couple more minutes, he set the cloth down and framed her face with his hands. "Now, are you going to go in there and act like his threat didn't affect you? Or are you going to go in there like a sniveling woman and give him the satisfaction that he got to you?"

She winced slightly at his blunt words, but took a deep breath and tried to nod against his hands. "I'm going to go in there and kick his ass."

He patted her cheeks lightly and said, "That's my girl." Then he took a step back and helped her off of the counter. She didn't know what to make of that comment, but she didn't have time to analyze it as he grabbed her arm again and led her out of the bathroom towards his office.

When they reached his office, he shut the door then let go of her arm and walked over to his desk to grab the files that he needed. He turned to look at her and noted that it didn't look like she had been crying anymore. One crisis averted.

He approached her with his head tilted slightly. "Are you ready?"

She squared her shoulders and smoothed her black pencil skirt over her legs. "I'm ready," she said resolutely.

He nodded and walked past her, then opened the door and gestured for her to precede him. As she passed, he couldn't help but admire how well her skirt hugged her in all the right places. He wanted to feel those strong, lean thighs under his hands. Before he could get in trouble, he quickly averted his eyes and guided her towards the conference room.

As they walked in, Liz froze for a moment when she spotted Tom, but then she pulled her shoulders back and held her head high as she walked the rest of the way in and sat down across from Tom and his lawyers. Alan smirked proudly and unbuttoned his suit coat as he sat down next to Liz.

Tom's lawyer, Roy, began. "So obviously we all know why we're here. Thomas wants to be compensated for all the things he had to endure after Elizabeth joined the FBI. We'd rather not take this small matter to trial-"

Alan interrupted him angrily, "Small matter? Small?" He turned and pointed at Liz. "This woman was brutally beaten, then left for dead. If you think we're going to agree to pay money to this son of a bitch, then you need to go back to school Roy."

Roy glared angrily at Alan. "And what makes you think you can get any charge to stick? My client has connections who have all but assured me that Thomas will never see the inside of a jail cell. What are you charging him with? Battery? Assault?"

Alan smiled and sat back in his chair. "Attempted Murder."

Tom stood up angrily and pointed at Liz. "You bitch! I'll kill you before we ever see the court room, you can-"

"Thomas! Sit DOWN!" Roy yelled as Liz unconsciously scooted closer to Alan.

Tom stood staring at Liz with steely eyes behind black-rimmed glasses, but after a few moments he sat back down with a smirk on his face.

Roy glared at Tom, then turned back to Alan and began speaking again, "Now if we could-"

Alan stood and pulled Liz up with him. "We're done here. I'll be filing a restraining order since your client threatened mine." He looked at Tom with narrowed eyes. "You. Stay away from her. We'll see you in court."

Tom's smile didn't fade. "Why do you care? You screwing her?"

Alan just shook his head and walked out of the room with Liz following close behind.

As soon as they were out of earshot and out of sight, she rounded on him and pointed her finger in his chest. "What the hell was that? He was never even convicted of battery, and now you're going to charge him with murder? He's going to kill me." Her chest heaved as her index finger dug into his chest.

He grabbed her finger and leaned closer to her, his face open and serious. "Trust me." He straightened and quickly changed the subject. "Where are you staying?"

She pulled her finger out of his grasp and glared at him, confused. "The Sheraton. Why?"

"Does Tom know where you are?"

She shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised."

He sighed. "The restraining order won't go through until tomorrow, and I'm concerned that he'll try to go after you when you're alone."

She clenched her jaw. "What the hell am I supposed to do then?"

He bit his lip and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Come stay with me in my hotel. I'll sleep on the couch. You need to be able to sleep somewhere where you'll be safe."

She laughed at little, but sobered when she saw that he was serious. "You're serious? What would that look like to an outsider?"

He shrugged. He couldn't believe he had asked either, but he couldn't seem to shake his need to protect her. "It's just a suggestion, but one I wish you would agree to."

She shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'll ask the hotel to put me in a different room and I'll make sure to lock the doors."

He couldn't force her to stay with him, unfortunately. "If that's what you want, but if you change your mind, I'm staying at _The Liberty Hotel _in room #302.

She reached over and squeezed his arm, her blue eyes clear and grateful. "I won't, but thanks for the offer."

He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow for our meeting. And Liz...please be careful. Tom is obviously a dangerous man."

"Ya, think?" She teased, then turned serious. "I will, I promise. I don't want to be anywhere near him if possible."

He sighed as she bade him goodbye with another squeeze of his arm, then he turned to go into his office to try to get some work done.

He didn't manage to get a single thing done the rest of the day though as his thoughts continually returned to Liz and his worry for her safety.

And the small matter of his growing feelings for her.

OOOOOO

Alan walked into his hotel room tiredly and shook the snowflakes off of his jacket and out of his hair. The snow had finally broken through, but it was just a light snow so he was hopeful that it wouldn't stick.

He walked into the bathroom and took a short shower, then shaved and changed into a pair of black sweats and a black, long-sleeved athletic shirt. He crawled into bed and collapsed against the sheets. He wasn't physically tired, but he was mentally tired; and it was all a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed woman's fault. He'd been lucky that he hadn't been due in court that day, or he probably would have lost all of his cases. He had been _that_ distracted.

He turned over and picked his cell phone up from the bedside table, then set his alarm and checked to make sure Liz hadn't tried to call or text him. He couldn't help but continue to worry about her safety. Tom's eyes had been murderous in the conference room, and that's all he could see every time he closed his eyes. He couldn't imagine how Liz felt.

Not seeing any messages, he sighed and set the phone back down and turned the light off. He laid there staring at the ceiling for a good hour before he finally drifted off into a troubled sleep.

OOOOOO

'Knock, knock, knock'

Alan shot up in bed and glanced around with one eye open as he tried to figure out what had woken him. He managed to open the other eye and ran a tired hand through his hair as he yawned. One of his neighbors must have-

'Knock, knock, knock'

That definitely hadn't been his neighbor. He quickly slipped out of bed and walked to the door, then looked through the peephole to see Liz standing there looking upset.

He unlocked the door and pulled it open as fast as he could. "Liz? What's wrong?"

Her hair and clothes were damp from the snow, and he could see her shivering as she pulled her coat tightly around herself.

"I..I..can I come in?"

He felt like an idiot for not inviting her in in the first place. He stepped back. "Of course. I apologize for not already doing so."

She stepped inside and he closed the door then moved forward and helped her with her coat. Once it was hung up next to his, he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Tell me what happened."

She sniffed. "I've been getting odd phone calls all day. Then the last one before I came here was someone threatening to come in my room. I didn't know what else to do..I'm sorry for-"

He cut her off and squeezed her shoulders gently, "It's fine. I want you here, don't ever be sorry."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Alan could see that she was still shivering. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and began to lead her towards the bed. At the edge of the bed, she slipped her shoes off and let him help her lie down. He pulled the blanket over her as she pulled it up to her chin and turned on her side towards him. He could hear her teeth chattering in the quiet room and wished he could slip into bed with her to help warm her up.

Instead, he smiled slightly and looked at her. "Are you going to be ok?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Now that I'm here," she whispered.

He couldn't help himself as he reached down and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and said, "I'll be on the couch if you need anything. I mean it Liz; anything at all."

"Ok," she said quietly as she snuggled further down into his pillow.

He turned away reluctantly and quickly made himself a bed on the uncomfortable couch, then laid down on his back and linked his fingers together over his chest.

He laid there for at least another hour listening to Liz's slow breathing, and eventually fell back asleep.

OOOOOO

He was woken for the second time that night by an odd sound. He opened his eyes slowly and listened to the strange, muffled sound. It sounded a lot like crying. And it was coming from his bed.

He didn't know what to do. Did he go to her and comfort her? Or did he ignore it and hope she eventually fell back to sleep?

He definitely had feelings for her, but he didn't know how she felt about him, and she was in the middle of a divorce. He had no right falling for a client. Especially one that was married, even if said marriage was over.

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed her quiet plea, "Alan...can you come over?"

**AN: **I was so surprised by the response the first chapter got. I was honestly expecting like five or six reviews. I guess people love Alan Shore and Sheen (Keen and Shore) as much as I do. :)..I just wanted to thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I appreciate them so much. I would love to hear what you think of this chapter, thanks for reading! :)

Special thanks to FrostyFingers for helping me hammer out the details. I appreciate it so much.


	3. Chapter 3

Alan sat up and winced as his back cracked loudly in the quiet room. Liz's sniffling stopped, as if she was holding her breath and waiting for his answer. He sighed quietly. He wanted to go to her, but his sense of duty for once in his life was holding him back. Why was he choosing this moment to care?

Maybe because she was different.

He ran his hands through his hair and ruffled it up as he sat there contemplating his options. If he went to her, then their relationship would change; he wouldn't be able to go back to keeping a professional distance. His feelings for her had only grown, and he had only known her for a short time. It was baffling to him. He hadn't felt this way about anyone. Ever.

Liz sniffed again and he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up quickly and moved to the side where she wasn't lying, then sat down gingerly and laid a hand on her shoulder.

She stiffened under his hand for a moment, then turned to face him. Alan's hand didn't leave her body as he moved it to her waist and gave it a little squeeze over the blankets.

"Are you ok, Lizzie?" He winced at the use of a nickname that he wasn't sure she would be ok with him using.

His eyes had adjusted enough to see her wipe her eyes with the collar of her t-shirt. "No, not really," she said thickly. She didn't act like she minded that he had called her Lizzie.

He squeezed her side again, then moved his hand to her arm that was lying outside of the blanket and ran his fingers up and down her soft skin. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head and wiped her eyes again, but was silent for a few seconds until she said quietly, "Will you lay with me?"

His hand stilled on her arm in pleasant surprise, but he quickly recovered and resumed his ministrations. "Lizzie-" he started.

She cut him off. "Please, Alan. Don't make me beg."

He bit his lip as the muscle under his eye twitched slightly. He was glad it was dark so she couldn't see his internal debate play over face. What the hell was he thinking? There was a woman who he had clear feelings for that wanted him to comfort her. He was an idiot for even hesitating.

Instead of saying anything, he slid off the bed then lifted the comforter up enough for him to lay underneath them.

As soon as he was settled, Liz didn't hesitate to scoot backwards into his body. He wrapped his right arm around her waist and pulled her as closely as possible, then buried his face in her hair and inhaled her strawberry scented shampoo. She exhaled a contented sigh, then whispered, "Thank you" before drifting off to sleep.

He had a hard time keeping still. His body felt wired and on edge, and he wanted nothing more than to move his hand under her shirt and caress her bare skin; but they weren't that far along in their relationship, and he didn't want to screw it up. So he kept his hand in place and resisted everything brain was telling him to do. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her hair and slipped his other arm underneath her pillow and closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost immediately. He had a woman that he was quickly falling for in his arms, he was warm, and he felt safe. It had been the fastest that he'd fallen asleep in years.

OOOOOO

Alan was woken from a deep sleep by a loud bang on the floor above him. He tried to turn over and go back to sleep, but was weighed down and couldn't. Confused, he cracked open his eyes and saw dark brown hair spread out over his shoulder and chest, with an arm thrown across his waist, and a warm body pressed against his side.

Everything came crashing back to him at once.

What the hell was he _doing_? She was a _client. _Everything had seemed so much clearer the night before, but in the light of day he knew he was jeopardizing everything.

He carefully pried himself away from her entirely too appealing body and stood up with his thighs touching the edge of the mattress. He watched as she sighed quietly, then turned on her other side and huddled under the blankets to find the warmth that had gone missing.

He sighed. She was so beautiful, and he could definitely get used to waking up with her every morning, but they had to get through the trial first. Then maybe they could see what happened between them; but only then.

Rubbing his numb arm where she had lain on him, he walked over to his drawers and pulled out some clean boxer briefs and a white undershirt, then walked into the bathroom to shower. While he was putting shaving cream on his face, there was a knock on the door. He winced because he was only in his briefs and called out, "What's the matter?"

Her quiet voice came through the door. "I need to use the restroom...badly."

He cleared his throat, uncomfortable because of his earlier resolution to keep his distance from her. "Well I have shaving cream on my face and am barely dressed, come in at your own discretion."

The door cracked open and she peeked inside, then blushed. "Sorry, I don't mean to bother you."

He shrugged and ran the razor over his face. "You're not bothering me. Do you need me to leave while you go?" Some people cared about that and some people didn't, he just wanted her to feel comfortable.

She blushed again and nodded. "If you don't mind." He kind of did. He was going to be late as it was, but he was trying to be a gentleman.

He smiled as he passed her and couldn't help but notice that she was staring at his chest with wide eyes.

After she was finished, she walked back out with a sheepish grin. "I'll just get dressed and meet you at the courthouse so you can get ready without having to worry about me."

Despite himself, he reached forward and squeezed her shoulder lightly. "Don't leave on my account. We can ride over together if you want. You're even welcome to stay here until after the trial." He clamped his mouth shut an swore profusely in his head. It seemed he couldn't stop his thoughts from coming out of his mouth.

She smiled warmly and ran a hand through her tousled hair. "I don't know. We'll see how things go today at trial."

He glanced at the clock and swore under his breath when he saw what time it was. Her trial was in an hour; they were barely going to make it as it was. He looked at her, then down at her pajamas. "Did you bring anything with you to wear or is it all at your hotel?"

"I have clothes in the car." She walked over and slid her jacket and shoes back on. "I'll go get them while you're in the shower."

He nodded and watched as she walked out the door, then he turned and hurried into the bathroom to finish shaving and showering before she returned.

Five minutes later, he dried off and dressed in his undershirt and a clean pair of black boxer briefs, then walked out and stopped in his tracks when Liz suddenly wrapped him up in a hug and buried her face in his neck. He wrapped his arms around her hesitantly and said, "What's wrong?"

She pulled him closer. "Thank you for being so kind to me. I'm not used to that."

He patted her back soothingly, wanting nothing more than to pull her back and kiss her senseless, but now wasn't the time, and they were running _out _of time. Instead, he pressed a chaste kiss in her hair then pushed her shoulders back. "You're welcome, and I would love to discuss this further but we need to leave in ten minutes to make it to the courthouse on time." He pursed his lips and looked at her from head to toe. "Are you going to be ready in time?"

She stepped away from him and nodded. "I'm used to having even less time than that. Tom would never..." She trailed off and frowned, then stepped around him and shut the bathroom door behind her without another word.

He wanted nothing more than to throttle Thomas Vincent Keen at that moment.

OOOOOO

Ten minutes later they were in his car heading towards the courthouse. They had decided to take one car for parking logistics, but he just made that excuse so he could keep her close. He observed her from the corner of his eye and marveled at how beautiful and put together she looked after having such a short amount of time to get ready.

They reached the parking garage in record time, despite the snow trying to spit out of the gray clouds, and walked together towards the entrance of the courthouse. He put his hand on her elbow and looked at her. "Are you nervous?"

She shook her head, but moved closer to him so that their shoulders brushed as they walked. "I'm just ready for it to be over. I'm tired of living my life in fear."

He didn't know what to say to that. Couldn't say what he was thinking because he didn't want to upset her further, so he just tightened his hold on her elbow and kept his mouth shut the rest of the way.

When they walked inside the courtroom, Tom and his lawyer were already seated. Tom smirked and blew a kiss at Liz as they passed, but Liz didn't see it because she was staring at her shoes so she didn't have to look at her scumbag husband.

Alan unbuttoned his suit coat before sitting down next to Liz. He didn't look at her or try to reassure her, and instead stared straight ahead and waited for the judge to arrive.

A few minutes later they were asked to arise and Alan took a deep breath. He was ready to put this bastard away for good.

For the next hour, Liz and Tom's marriage was put under a humiliating microscope. He tried his best to shield her from having to answer the most invasive questions, but she still had to answer her fare share, and Tom's testimony was the most damaging to her case. He portrayed her as mentally and physically abusive, and that the only reason he had hit her was because of self-defense.

Alan had been furious at that line of questioning, but the judge had allowed it.

When it was Liz's turn to take the stand, Alan showed the court her bruises on big display boards. Then he questioned Liz about the circumstances surrounding the last incident. She had told her story as best she could, but the defense had once again managed to make her look like she had possibly been the instigator.

Liz was furious when it was time for her to step down from the stand. As she sat down, she grabbed Alan's arm and pulled him close so she could speak to him. "We're going to lose this case, aren't we?"

She sounded terrified. He patted her hand and whispered back, "Not if I have anything to do about it. We still have closing arguments. I'll get him there." She sighed against his neck and he closed his eyes at the sensation, but was rudely interrupted by the judge. "Mr. Shore, are you going to keep us waiting much longer?"

Alan pulled away reluctantly and cleared his throat, then stood up and buttoned his suit coat. "I apologize, your Honor, I was just answering a question that my client had."

The judge just raised his eyebrows and waved his hand impatiently for Alan to begin his closing argument. "Right." He turned to the jury and gave them a small smile and spread his arms wide as he began.

"Why are we really here? How is Tom Keen's abuse even a question? He brutally beat his wife and left her for dead. You saw the horrific bruising on the poor woman's body. Did we see any pictures of bruises on Tom's body from his wife's "alleged" abuse?" He paused for dramatic effect, "No! We didn't. You know why? Because there weren't any bruises to take a picture of in the first place!" He felt anger rising in his gut as he continued, "It's an insult to Ms. Keen that we're even here. Thomas Keen should be in jail for what he did. He beat her. Just imagine if this was your wife, mother, girlfriend, best friend. You definitely wouldn't be here "debating" whether or not Thomas was guilty of doing what he did. He's not even denying that he did do it. Do you honestly believe that 5'4" , 110 pound Elizabeth Keen could inflict serious damage on that 6'3", 200 pound man? It's highly unlikely. I implore you to please...please remember the victim in this. Don't be blinded to the fact that she was beaten almost to death by Mr. Keen; who's not disputing the fact that he laid his hands on her." He took a deep breath and leaned against the railing and looked at each juror in the eye before turning and walking back to his chair.

Alan sat back down next to Liz and let out a sigh of relief as Tom's lawyer stood up and spouted out more lies to the jury about Liz and Tom's marriage. He watched the jury's faces closely and was satisfied to see thinly veiled disgust and annoyance as the lawyer spoke. Alan had done his job, now the jury needed to do theirs and deliver a guilty verdict.

The judge waited for Tom's lawyer to sit down, then he began speaking. "Court will be adjourned until the jury reaches a verdict." He banged his gavel, then everyone rose as he walked out of the courtroom and into his chambers.

Liz reached over and squeezed Alan's clasped hands in gratitude, then looked up to see Tom sneering at her. He leaned across his lawyer and said in a deadly voice, "So you two _are_ screwing. I knew it. Not even divorced yet and you've already moved on."

Liz stood up abruptly. "Yeah well, it never stopped you now did it?" She shot back, then gestured for Alan to stand up so they could leave. As they passed Tom, he reached out and grabbed her bicep roughly. "I don't like what you're implying, Elizabeth."

Alan grabbed Tom's wrist and shoved it away from Liz's arm. "Don't touch her again."

"Or what? What the hell are you going to do?"

Alan didn't say anything more as he put his hand on the small of Liz's back and propelled her out of the courtroom.

They rode the elevator down to his office in silence; but he could tell she was on the verge of tears. As soon as he shut his office door behind him, she broke down and let out a muffled sob into her hands as she sat in one of the chairs across from his desk.

"Lizzie-"

"Don't...just...don't," she cried as she hugged her her body and curled her feet under her legs.

He sat down in the chair next to her and reached out a tentative hand and placed it on her back; reminiscent of when they had first met.

She didn't shy away at the contact, so he moved their chairs so that they were facing each other and pulled her face up so he could look at her. He wiped her tears away with his fingers, then smiled softly at her. "I know you don't want to talk, but you can listen. You can't fall apart now. You need to stay strong for just a little while longer; can you do that?"

She took his proffered tissue and wiped her nose and eyes, then took a deep breath and nodded. "How long until we know?"

He shook his head and framed her face with his hands. "I can't imagine that it will take them too long, but in case it does, the judge will send them home at ten and they'll resume deliberating again in the morning."

She sighed and closed her eyes. He continued to stroke her cheeks as he waited for her to say something. She opened her eyes and studied him intently, then she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. Before he could react, she had her tongue in his mouth and was coaxing him to kiss her back. His brain finally caught up and he began kissing her back just as fervently; but then his senses came back to him and he pushed her back a little.

"Lizzie, we can't do this."

**AN: **Evil cliffhanger, I know. Seemed like a good place to stop. ;) Thanks so much for your reviews/follows/faves, I truly do appreciate all of them, good or bad. Thanks for reading and thanks goes to FrostyFingers for her continued help.


	4. Chapter 4

Liz sat back heavily in her chair with narrowed brows and opened her mouth to protest, when Alan's office door opened. They both turned to see Brad's blonde head poke through the door. Alan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Brad, have you ever hear of-"

He was cut off by Liz shooting to her feet in surprise. "Brad?!"

Brad's mouth dropped open in shock as he stepped all the way inside the office and closed the door behind him. Brad and Liz stared at each other for countless seconds until he suddenly stepped forward and enveloped Liz in an all-encompassing hug. "Liz, it's been what...five years since we last saw each other?"

Alan couldn't stop the surge of jealousy that washed over him at the sight of Brad putting his lips against her ear. Even if Alan was trying to push her away, it didn't mean that he wanted her to hook up with someone else. He narrowed his brows and pursed his lips while he waited for Liz to pull away.

When she finally did, she was grinning from ear to ear; her worries about Tom's case seemingly put on the back burner. "I didn't know you were practicing law. How long have you been out of the Marines?" She said with a wide smile on her face.

He touched her arm briefly. "I was discharged right after we parted ways...injured."

Her smiled dimmed as she looked worriedly at him. "Are you ok now?"

Brad nodded and opened his mouth to reassure her, but Alan interrupted their little reunion by clearing his throat. "As much as I'm enjoying watching you two become reacquainted," he said sarcastically, "was there a reason you came looking for me, Brad?"

Brad managed to tear his eyes from Liz and glared at Alan. "I was "asked" to consult with you about a case. It can wait though." He turned back to Liz and smiled again. "Will you go out for drinks with me tonight so we can catch up without Mr. Big Ears over there listening to everything?"

Liz bit her lip and glanced at Alan before looking at Brad again. "Oh, um.."

Sensing her hesitance, he quickly backtracked. "If you'd rather not that's ok, too."

She twisted her hands together nervously and avoided looking Alan's way again. "It's not that, it's just that we're waiting on a verdict for my case."

Seeing that she didn't want to elaborate further, Brad nodded and reached forward to squeeze her arm. "Maybe some other time, huh?"

A relieved look passed over her face before she smiled again and nodded. "For sure."

Looking somewhat disappointed, Brad turned and walked out the door without saying another word to either one of them. As soon as the door shut, Liz turned back to Alan.

"We knew each-"

Alan quickly rose from his seat and waved a hand in her direction without looking at her. "Yes, yes...I garnered as much. Seems you fall for whomever is convenient for you at the time."

Liz felt like she had been slapped as Alan's comment washed over her. What the hell was he talking about?

"Excuse me?" She tried to mask the hurt she was feeling, but knew he saw it when he turned to look at her from behind his desk.

"Does it matter? Honestly Elizabeth, you're looking a little desperate right now. You're not even divorced yet." Alan couldn't seem to stop the insults that were flying out of his mouth. He knew it was just a coping mechanism for when things started to go sideways, but he always seemed to hurt the people he cared for the most. It was something that was a repeating pattern in all of his relationships.

"You're a bastard," Liz said quietly as she looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Here I was thinking you actually gave a damn, when honestly you were just preying on a vulnerable woman. Is this what you do? Do you make them think you care, then when they become boring or difficult you throw false accusations at them so they'll leave you themselves so you don't have to do the dirty work?"

Alan's left eye twitched at how close she had come to the truth, and when he didn't refute her claim, she shook her head and turned to leave his office.

With her hand on the doorknob, she turned to see that he was still staring at the wall in front of him. "Call me and tell me when it's time to meet in court. Until then, I don't want to see or talk to you again." She turned resolutely with her heart that was barely hanging together, and walked out of his office.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Alan let out a loud sigh and ran a hand over his face and through his hair. What was his damn problem? Why did he always do this? Liz was someone he could honestly see being with in the future, but that future had suddenly become a lot more clouded because of his idiocy. He slammed two fists down on his desk, then sat down in his chair and laid his head back in defeat.

He wouldn't go after her, not when she was so angry, but he would try to apologize to her later on; maybe after the trial was over.

Alan sat there for what seemed like hours. He couldn't seem to make himself move or even sit up; he hadn't felt this badly in a long time. After a while, his cell phone startled him out of his internal musings, so he leaned forward reluctantly and dug it out of his pocket. "Shore," he said shortly as he closed his eyes tiredly.

"Mr. Shore, the verdict is in. The court with reconvene in twenty minutes." He thanked the secretary, then hung up and hurriedly sent a quick text to Liz telling her to meet him there; he was too cowardly to call her. Not when he knew he would be able to hear the hurt and anger in her voice.

He already knew he was a bastard.

OOOOOO

Fifteen minutes later, Alan strode into the courtroom and saw that Liz was already there waiting for him. He sat down next to her and shot her an apologetic look; she didn't even look at him. He sighed and unbuttoned his suit coat, then set his briefcase on the floor and fiddled with some papers in front of him as they waited awkwardly for Tom and the judge to show up.

He watched Liz out of the corner of his eye; looking for any sign that she wasn't as angry with him anymore. No such luck, though. She held her body rigidly and leaned away from him, as if she wished she could move over to the empty seat next to her; he was surprised that she didn't.

Just as he turned to tell her that she could sit where she wanted, the courtroom doors opened and Tom and his lawyer sauntered in. Tom raised his eyebrows at Liz suggestively, then blew a kiss at Alan as he sat down next to his lawyer. Alan wanted to punch his lips off of his face. Thomas Keen was the worst kind of person; he couldn't believe that Liz had ever married him.

He wondered how her childhood had been. Did she have loving or absent parents, and did she marry Tom in some misguided attempt at normalcy? Those were things that he wanted to know, but knew he most likely wouldn't get the chance to ask because he was a son of a bitch and ruined anything good in his life.

They were asked to arise as the judge strode in and sat down. As soon as everyone was seated, the judge was handed the verdict, then he handed it back and turned to the foreman. "You've reached a verdict?"

The skinny, blonde man nodded. "We have your Honor."

"What say you?"

The man cleared his throat nervously and began speaking. "In the case of attempted murder, we find the defendant...guilty."

Tom stood up with hands on the desk. "What?!" He turned to his lawyer and said loudly, "You son of a bitch. You all but assur-"

"Mr. Keen, you will sit down or you will be held in contempt!" The judge glared at Tom, daring him to say something else.

Tom looked at Liz and all but assured her with his eyes that she was a dead woman. Alan reached over to squeeze her hand, but she pulled away as soon as he made contact.

The judge began speaking, interrupting Alan's thoughts. "We will reconvene for sentencing in two weeks time. Until then, the defendant will be held without bail." He banged his gavel, then strode out of the room without another word.

The court officers quickly walked over and handcuffed Tom. Tom didn't move his eyes away from Liz as they began to lead him out of the room. As soon as they passed by her, he leaned down and whispered, "We're not done. Not by a long-shot, bitch."

Liz stiffened noticeably, but refused to rise to the bait as Tom was roughly pulled away by the officers.

Alan stood and turned to Liz. "Lizzie, please let me-"

She stood up and pointed a finger in his chest. "No, I don't want to hear it.. I'll be coming to get my things in your hotel room, then I'm going home."

Before he could respond, she brushed past him and strode out of the courtroom. He knew she was going to have to take a cab, and wished she would at least let him give her his keys so she could take his car; but she didn't want anything to do with him.

He couldn't blame her really.

**AN: **I know this is angsty, and short. I was going to continue, but I'm so tired and can't keep my eyes open. I promised a few friends on my FB page that I would get this out tonight, so here's me not breaking my promise. Thanks so much for your support for this fic, I really appreciate it. I'll definitely do my best to update as soon as possible. Thanks for reading. :)


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